The Natural Path
by Incogneat-o
Summary: I'm was the natural path your life would have taken . . ." How Twilight would have been if there were no monsters or magic, and how it would have affected Bella and Jacob's relationship.
1. Prologue

Fate is a binding force. It brings people together, tears them apart, or makes sure they never meet. It is impossible to go against fate, because in the end everything will work out the way it was meant to. Bound by the tendrils of time and destiny, there is no escaping it.

So why is it that two particular people found a way around it?

One particular girl and one particular boy, to be exact. Their fates were so surely sealed even before they were born. Ever since the beginning of time. But somewhere along the way occurred a hiccup in time. Things were changed. It was an anomaly.

Fate somehow worked itself out, as usual, but some things were still wrong. One particular girl and one particular boy were still wrong, to be exact. Their fates were changed and they could not be fixed. Since their fates were changed, it meant the fates of those around them changed accordingly. Everything was wrong.

But fate always had to get its way. And so it would.

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**A/N: Sorry that was short, but it's just the introductory chapter. More to come soon! Let me know what you think of the idea.**


	2. Changes

_I'm exactly right for you, Bella. It would have been effortless for us – comfortable, easy as breathing. I was the natural path your life would have taken . . .If the world was the way it was supposed to be, if there were no monsters and no magic . . . _

_-Jacob Black, Eclipse, pg. 599_

"Aren't you Isabella Swan?"

Bella Swan groaned inwardly to herself as she faces yet another stranger. The boy had blonde, spiky hair. He still had some roundness left in his cheeks from childhood.

"Bella, actually," she responded with what she hoped was enthusiasm. She plastered a smile on her face for good measure.

"Cool. I'm, uh, I'm Mike." He stuck out his hand towards her. She grabbed it with her own hand and shook it with what she hoped was enthusiasm.

"Good to meet you, Mike," she said. She expected to turn around and leave, but he was still standing there with a nervous smile on his face. The bell had just rung and Bella was pretty sure that they were both going to be late if he continued to stand there for another minute.

"So, uh, what class do you have next?" Mike finally managed to blurt out.

"Gym," she responded. Mike's eyes lit up like a lamp.

"Cool! So do I. Coincedence, right? I can show you where it is." he said with what couldn't be mistaken for anything but enthusiasm. _This isn't a big school, _thought Bella to herself. _It's not _that _coincidental. _But she agreed nonetheless. There was no point in getting lost to gym over pride.

Mike chatted the whole way to gym, but Bella wasn't really listening. She was going over the events of the day so far over in her head. English, Trigonometry, Spanish, Lunch, and Biology. A fairly uneventful day. In English the teacher gave her a list of books that they would be reading over the course of the semester. She'd read them all. In Trigonometry she had stared blankly at the spot above the Mr. Varner's head, vaguely listening to the girl whispering next to her. In Spanish, the same girl had whispered to her for the whole class. Bella was pretty sure her name was Jessica. At Lunch she had tried keeping up with the conversations her classmates were having, but after a bit she had realized she wasn't 'in the loop' enough yet and had decided to just politely stare. In Biology she had to sit all the way in the back, by herself. Of course that would happen. The only student in the whole class without a lab partner.

Bella didn't realize the background noise was gone until Mike glumly pointed out they arrived to the Gym. He seemed strangely disappointed that they had to separate. Bella hurried off towards the gym teacher. Mike was the nicest person she'd met today, but his quick attachment to her was kind of unsettling.

Thankfully, Coach Clapp didn't make her dress out since it was her first day. Bella sighed with relief, and sat on the bleachers to watch the other students. She noticed that Mike was a pretty good athlete. She also noticed that he looked her way every now and then, trying to catch her eye. Automatically, Bella started to blush. Did he like her? She cursed herself for being so vain. He was probably just looking at something else, not her. Why would he be, anyway?

Bella let her head fall back against the wall and shut her eyes, trying to remember why she agreed to come to rainy, gloomy, too-green Forks.

Something in the back of her head told her she would find out the reason soon enough.

* * *

"Hey, Jake?"

Jacob Black groaned inwardly towards himself. He was working in his makeshift garage when his dad started calling him from the house. Reluctantly, he moved away from the 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit and sauntered to the front of the garage.

"Yeah, Dad?" he called back to him.

"I need you to come here for a sec. Stop making me lose my voice," his dad joked as he started to wheel himself back inside. Jacob rolled his eyes and followed the trail back up to his house. Inside he saw his dad Billy, Leah Clearwater, and Sam Uley.

"What's up guys?" asked Jacob. The tiny living room was close to overflowing.

"We're engaged!" Leah squealed triumphantly. She uncharacteristically pounced on Jacob and hugged him. "Isn't it exciting?"

Jacob chuckled under Leah's weight and pushed her off playfully. "That's great guys. When'd you pop the question?"

"Yesterday afternoon," answered Sam with a huge grin. "We just came by to tell you guys."

"We appreciate it," said Billy, nodding approvingly at Sam. "When do you plan on making the wedding date?"

"As soon as possible!" trilled Leah happily. Both she and Sam laughed.

"But in all seriousness, we're thinking by the middle or end of June," said Sam.

"That soon? Well, I wish you both the best of luck."

"Yeah, man. Great pick." Jacob nudged Sam with an elbow, who laughed. Leah giggled happily.

"Hey," interjected Billy. "Why don't you guys just stay over for dinner?"

"Oh, we couldn't intrude on you like that, Billy."

"Nonsense, I'm inviting you! You guys are already here, anyway. We could order a pizza."

After many 'no, reallys' and 'it's no problems', Sam and Leah finally agreed to stay. Jacob watched the exuberant scene in front of him, happy for the new fiancees, but something in the back of his mind told him something was very, very wrong with this picture.

He just couldn't figure out what yet.

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**A/N: Well, I told you it would be soon! Haha. Please read and review!**

**Oh, and none of these characters belong to me. Just FYI. **

**By the way, just so we're all clear: Yes, I am Team Jacob. :D**


	3. Blood, Blood, Blood

"_I'm human." -Jacob Black, Eclipse_

For Bella Swan, the rest of the week passed by in an uninteresting blur. She made a fool out of herself in gym, did her home work, took on all cooking responsibilities at home, and was extremely disappointed by the scarce amount of book stores that resided in Forks. Despite a few details (like the fact that everything was abnormally green and everyone at school noticed her), her life wasn't all that different from when she lived in Phoenix. But those details were enough to miss her home and her mother. She felt like she was fighting back tears practically every five minutes.

It didn't help that everyone at school wanted to know about her life in sunny Arizona. It only helped trigger sentimental memories.

Mike and Bella walked out of English the following Monday to find themselves amongst a flurry of white. It seemed like it had been snowing for a while. Bella wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"Ew. Snow," she grumbled. Mike turned to her with shock plastered across his face.

"Don't you like snow?" he demanded.

"No. That means it's too cold for rain. Plus, I thought it was supposed to come down with every snowflake looking unique. These just look like the ends of Q-tips."

Mike looked at her with an incredulous expression that might have said something like 'you don't get out much, do you?'

"Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?" he asked.

"Sure I have . . . on TV."

Mike's laugh was cut short by a loud 'SMACK' that sounded against his back. They both whirled around to see Eric, who Bella remembered from English class, walking angrily away in the opposite direction. She looked at Mike uneasily, who shrugged.

It looked like a snow ball fight between the two guys was about to ensue, so Bella hurried towards the doors to take shelter.

"See you at lunch, okay?" she called over her shoulder. She saw Mike nod before she retreated inside. Exhaling a sigh of relief, she made her way toward the cafeteria. During lunch, she learned the names of more people. Angela, a quiet but kind girl; Lauren, the obviously snobby girl with long, blonde hair; and Tyler, the all-around good guy. Jessica pointed each of them out, adding a little of her own commentary on the side in a hushed whisper. Bella was surprised at the way she easily made remarks about people – even in front of them!

The Biology room, Bella found out, was always significantly colder than the rest of the school. For this reason, Bella wore her coat zipped up all the way to her chin. It was the only way to stop the incessant shivering. She wouldn't be surprised if she could see her breath fog up.

The next day was worse than the previous day on account of the fact that when Bella looked outside her window the ground was white. Completely. After turning disappointedly away from her window, she made her way downstairs. Charlie was already gone so she poured herself a bowl of cereal and ate alone, exaggerating each chew. She was intent on delaying going outside as much as possible. Every action after rinsing her bowl was performed slowly and meticulously; brushing her teeth, getting dressed, getting her book bag in order, etc. But alas, she had nothing else to do, and if she delayed any more she would be late.

The drive to school was surprisingly easy, despite all the ice on the road. Bella unconsciously began thinking about yesterday when Eric threw the snowball at Mike's back. Obviously he was upset at him for something, but what? Bella mulled that over in her mind as she pulled into the school's parking lot.

That's when things got kind of out of hand.

At first, all Bella was aware of was the van in front of her screeching out of control, hurling itself towards the sidewalk. Panicking, she instinctively slammed on her brakes to stop from crashing into the van. But she failed. The front of her red truck collided with the back of the van, causing both cars to continue skidding down the road. The impact made Bella hit her forehead hard against the steering wheel.

Somehow, the skidding stopped, and both drivers were able to wobble uneasily from their vehicles. Bella found herself face to face with Tyler Crowley.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry!" he cried. He was about to run over to her when he realized he would have probably slipped on the ice. Instead he offered her an overly apologetic look. Bella could only stare wide-eyed at him.

"You're . . . you're bleeding," she mouthed, pointing to his face. His entire face was covered in scratches, and he seemed to be bleeding profusely from his forehead. Tyler gave her a quizzical look then reached up and touched his face. He gaped at the red stain left on his fingertips, looking as if he was about to faint. Bella automatically covered her mouth and nose, the smell of blood already making her feel queasy. Suddenly everyone was shouting.

"Someone call 9-1-1!"

"Are they okay?"

"HOLY CRAP!"

"Is ANYONE calling 9-1-1?"

"Tyler! Bella!"

Bella looked around her in a daze. Everything seemed oddly out of focus, blurry. She examined the newly formed bump on her forehead and winced as she touched it. She was definitely going to feel that in the morning.

"Bella!" she heard someone call. She turned around wildly, not knowing where the voice came from. Suddenly someone grabbed her arm and pulled her off to the sidewalk. She followed obediently.

"Bella, are you okay? God, were you lucky. Did you get hurt?" Bella finally faced the speaker, Mike, who was staring at her with frightened eyes. She unconsciously moved her hand towards her forehead.

"Ouch, that had to hurt. Not too bad though," he said with relief.

"Where's Tyler?" Bella finally asked. "Is he okay? He was bleeding . . ." The thought made her stomach lurch in disgust.

"Yeah," responded Mike. "I think the nurse is coming to stop the flow before the ambulance gets here. Are you sure you're okay? You don't look so great."

"I'm fine," said Bella indignantly. There was no way she was going to be put in an ambulance. She had enough embarrassment for one week. She tried walking along the sidewalk to prove it to him, but only succeeded in fumbling over her own feet. Mike caught her before she fell flat on her face. Her cheeks flamed bright red.

"You were saying?" he asked, grinning slightly. Bella glared at him, but that just made him laugh.

"Shut up," she mumbled, but unable to suppress the smile creeping onto her face. She knew he was only trying to help.

"Come on. When the ambulance arrives you should get them to check out your head. It looks like you hit it pretty hard." He looked pointedly at her forehead, which she guessed was beginning to sport a very dark bruise.

Bella didn't respond, only seethed inside. She definitely did _not_ like the idea of riding in an ambulance, or even being checked by the EMT personnel.

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**A/N: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! I'm glad you guys think this is a good idea. Just so people aren't confused, the reason this scene is different than the one in the book is because in Twilight, Bella was rushing in the morning because she was excited to see Edward. But since in this version there is no Edward she took her time, thus making her drive behind Tyler. I hope that makes sense, lol. **

**Anyway, please review!**


	4. The First Time I Saw Your Face

"_So, is Forks driving you insane yet?" -Jacob Black, Twilight_

_Guess I'm just a loser, then._

Those were Jacob's thoughts as he walked away from Kim, the girl from his English class, who had just turned down his offer of going down to First Beach that weekend.

"Sorry, Jake," she'd said. And she really did look sorry. "But I'm kind of busy on Friday."

_Right, _thought Jacob. _Busy washing your hair, or something. _He kicked a pebble that was lying on the sidewalk off into the weeds. His gaze followed the path of the pebble as he heard a gaggle of girls walking behind him, whispering fervently.

"Ohmigod," one said. "Did you hear about the car accident that happened down in Forks?"

"Yeah, I heard one guy got scraped up pretty bad," whispered another.

"_Pretty_ bad? I heard he had to go the hospital!"

"I wonder if anyone died."

"I hope not!"

When the girls passed him, their conversation turned to a more magazine-tips-oriented direction. Jacob rolled his eyes. The people here were way too preoccupied with the affairs of the people down in Forks. Though he did wonder idly if anyone was seriously injured, those thoughts were overruled by the ones that reminded him he was doing nothing for the weekend. Again. Quil was still grounded for getting bad grades, and Embry had to babysit his cousin.

When he got home Billy was waiting for him at the front door. He was wearing a grave expression.

"What's up?" Jacob asked, slightly concerned.

"You know Charlie Swan?"

"Of course I do." Chief Swan was practically part of the family.

"Well, his daughter is in the hospital. Some sort of accident happened at school."

Jacob's interest was piqued. "You mean Isabella? I didn't know she was in Forks again."

"Yeah, apparently she's staying for good this time. Something about her mom remarrying. Anyway, her injuries are pretty minor, maybe just a concussion, but I think we should drop in to visit. It would be a good time to introduce yourself, too. I don't think she remembers you as well as Rachel and Rebecca."

"Sure, why not," agreed Jacob. He'd still be bored this weekend, but at least it was something to do today.

"Great. Let's get in the car. You can drive." Billy tossed him the keys from the counter top and wheeled himself outside. Jacob clutched the keys and grinned. Today was turning out better than he thought it would.

Hospitals always made Jacob uneasy. Something about the blinding white walls, the smell of sick people, and the attempting-to-make-people-more-comfortable pictures of flowers on the walls.

"Here's her room," said Billy. Her room was at the end of a very long hallway on the third floor. When they entered her room she appeared to be sleeping, her dark hair splayed out across the pillow, but her eyes flew open once they were closer to her bed. There was a bed next to her holding someone who looked about five times worse than her.

"Billy?" she said.

"Yup, Bella, it's me. And this is Jacob. I'm not sure if you remember him or not." Jacob smiled and waved. Bella returned the gesture shyly. "We just came by to see how you are."

Bella let out a huge sigh and rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. They just did a CAT scan and nothing was wrong, so I should be getting out soon."

"Good to hear, good to hear. Did we miss Charlie?"

"He's probably out grabbing something from the vending machine. I swear, he's making this a bigger deal than it is. I really should be able to go back to school now," she complained. Jacob thought it was funny how she wanted to go back to school. Any normal person would've loved to get a day off.

"Hmm, I think I'll go find him. Wait here, Jake?" Jacob nodded, even though he would've preferred to go with Billy. He felt kind of bad leaving the girl all by herself. She looked incredibly bored.

"So," he began once Billy was out of the room. "You've come to Forks at last."

Bella grimaced and began to sit up. "Yeah, that's right."

"Woah, should you be doing that?" Jacob asked.

"Look, even the CAT scan said nothing was wrong with me. I think I'm allowed to sit up." Stung by her words, Jacob said nothing. He looked down at his feet and mumbled a 'sorry'. Bella sighed.

"Ugh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. It's just that I really don't want to be here. I hate hospitals."

"Yeah, me too. Looks like we share something in common." He grinned at her, and she offered a weak smile back.

"Looks like we do. So how are your sisters? Rachel and Rebecca?"

"Well Rachel got a scholarship to Washington State, and Rebecca got married to a Samoan surfer. She's living in Hawaii now." This seemed to surprise her.

"Wow," she breathed. "Married, huh?"

"Yeah, pretty crazy, right? Seems like a lot of people are getting married these days. Like Leah Clearwater, this girl who lives in La Push, is getting married in June. And she's only, like, eighteen." Jacob didn't know why he was telling this girl all of this. It's not like she knew who he was talking about, or cared for that matter. But she seemed absorbed in the conversation, and it felt almost freeing to talk to her. Comfortable.

"Holy crow, that's only a year older than me! By the way, how old are you?"

"Um, fourteen. But I'm turning fifteen like next week," he added quickly.

"Jacob," called Billy from the doorway, interrupting Bella as she was opening her mouth to speak. He turned away reluctantly and saw him in the doorway with Chief Swan, who smiled at him. He smiled back. "Let's let Charlie have some time with Bella, okay?"

"Sure, dad." He turned back to Bella. "Nice meeting you, Bella."

"You too, Jacob," she said, grinning.

And that grin was the only thing Jacob could think about all the way home.


End file.
